You can create FlexClone volumes from SnapMirror source or destination volumes. However, you should understand the behavior of the resulting FlexClone volume before creating it.
FlexClone volumes create a nearly instantaneous replica of a volume within the same aggregate. For information about FlexClone volumes, see the Data ONTAP Storage Management Guide.
Cloning SnapMirror volumes: You can clone SnapMirror volumes. A clone of a SnapMirror destination locks the Snapshot copy from which the clone was created. It also locks that Snapshot copy in the source volume and every volume in the cascade (if the volume is part of a SnapMirror cascade).
There are differences in cloning volumes that use qtree SnapMirror and those volumes that use volume SnapMirror. When you create a clone of a volume that is a destination for qtree SnapMirror replication, without specifiying the Snapshot copy name, the clone is not writable until the SnapMirror relationship of the clone volume is broken. Specifying a Snapshot copy name when creating a clone breaks the SnapMirror relationship of the clone volume and makes the volume writable. The clone of a volume SnapMirror destination volume does not have this behavior.
Cloning from a Snapshot copy that is not the most recent Snapshot copy: If a FlexClone volume is created from a Snapshot copy that is not the most recent Snapshot copy, and that Snapshot copy no longer exists on the source volume, then every update will need to delete the Snapshot copy on the destination. In this case, all SnapMirror updates to the destination volume fail until the clone is destroyed or split.
Effects of deleting the source Snapshot copy: If a source Snapshot copy for a SnapMirror relationship is deleted, SnapMirror fails on subsequent update requests. The failures occur because FlexClone volumes are bound to the source Snapshot copy regardless of whether the FlexClone volume was created on the source or destination volume. Even if the FlexClone volume was created remotely on the destination system, deleting the source Snapshot copy on the source system results in a failed SnapMirror update when attempting to propagate the deletion to the destination. You can delete or split the FlexClone volume for the SnapMirror updates to continue.